Kiev concerned by German politician’s call to rethink sanctions on Russia

"Calls to ease the sanctions are counter-productive," the Ukrainian diplomat said

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BERLIN, August 9. /TASS/. The Ukrainian government is concerned by German politician Christian Lindner’s call to ease anti-Russian sanctions if any interim progress is made in implementing the Minsk accords on eastern Ukraine reconciliation, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavel Klimkin said in an interview with Bild published on Wednesday.

Lindner, who heads Germany’s Free Democratic Party (FDP), called on last week to "encapsulate" the issue of Crimea’s reunification with Russia and "see the Crimea as a permanent provisional arrangement, at least for now." He also urged a more nuanced approach to reducing anti-Russian sanctions, under which positive interim steps toward implementing the Minsk deal should be rewarded.

Commenting on the proposal, Ukraine’s top diplomat said: ‘We are very concerned by the fact that certain politicians, like FDP leader Christian Lindner, are constantly trying to ignore obvious violations of the international law or even to justify them."

"We are firmly convinced that the sanctions must not only be preserved, but also toughened," Klimkin continued, adding that the sanctions "remain the only non-political option" in solving the issue of Crimea and Donbass.

"Calls to ease the sanctions are counter-productive," the Ukrainian diplomat said.